Sometimes, we all like to just hang out. Perhaps to gain a different perspective on the world, to gain new footing as it were...
OK, we'll stop. But this playful magpie is doing exactly all of those things.
Like crows and other corvids, magpies are intelligent birds – and as we know from mammals, with smarts, comes play. While some have suggested this bird is simply stuck on the towel, and we can only speculate about what it's actually doing (its friend there seems equally puzzled), this isn't the only time we've seen a magpie hanging around this way.
Play in birds is actually relatively rare to observe. Of the approximately 10,500 species of birds, just 25 have been seen engaging in true play behaviour. This includes members of the parrot, hornbill, babbler, and, of course, the corvid family as we see here.
Perhaps this avian performer simply spotted the camera and a chance at his 15 minutes of fame (or 55 seconds actually, but who's counting?).
Header image: Alden Chadwick
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